This disclosure relates to a method and system for detecting simple page orientation through digital image manipulation, including analyzing and changing the content and/or appearance of the digital images. More particularly, this disclosure is related to a system and method for simple page orientation detection based on a limited version of character recognition and thus will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it should be appreciated that some embodiments are amenable to other applications.
By way of background, the prime orientation (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) of a scanned page is often required to be directed as a first step for further processing. This can generally range from simple operations, such as image displaying to operations that can be more complex, like document analysis procedures. Page orientation for text documents can be determined by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). When a machine that implements OCR is fed with a page having an incorrect orientation, the error rate for reading characters tends to be very high. In some cases, the OCR module will communicate this error rate and not be able to find a proper orientation. However, in most cases, the correct orientation can be found by running the OCR in four different orientations. The machine running the OCR will then select the one orientation associated with the OCR confidence level that is highest. This method, however, has two major disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that OCR procedures typically consume significant computer cycles. The second disadvantage is that OCR is a complex program that may not necessarily be available in smaller systems with limited resources.
In an effort to combat these problems, OCR may be run in a multiple step fashion. Specifically, the page is divided into a few smaller regions. OCR is then performed on these regions, one by one, in the four orientations. The procedure will then generally continue until enough evidence is gathered for finding the correct page orientation. This usually only requires using OCR through a portion of the page. Although this process sometimes helps in solving the first problem, the second problem still exists in that OCR may not be available in smaller systems.
There is a need in the art for a procedure which can find simple page orientation with the reliability of OCR but uses fewer computer cycles. There is also a need in the industry for a program that is not as complex as OCR and can be run and implemented through smaller systems with limited resources. There is a further need in the art for this system to be cost effective without implementing major changes in existing software. This disclosure solves the above-referenced difficulties as well as many others.